Tx. House Dist. 32 foes build big war chests

Two sides have raised more than $800,000 for Nov. race

Today is the day that campaign finance reports are due in Texas, and preliminary reports indicate that the Texas House District 32 race is likely to be one of the most expensive in the state.

While neither side has released a full report, state Rep. Juan Garcia's campaign said it has $520,000 on hand with four months to go until the general election and Todd Hunter's campaign manager said Hunter has raised $307,000. The campaign manager did not say how much cash the campaign has on hand, but said Hunter has contributed about $70,000 to himself, in addition to the $307,000.

Garcia's campaign did not immediately disclose what it has raised for the campaign finance period covering Jan. 1 to June 30,

Those figures, while not immediately comparable, likely will shatter estimates of what the campaign will cost. Political observers had previously estimated that the race would cost $1 million.

Grocer Charles Butt of San Antonio has given Garcia $75,000 in this reporting period, in addition to $25,000 given earlier in the campaign.

Garcia, a Democrat, and Hunter, a Republican who served eight years in the House as a Democrat, are Corpus Christi residents running in a district that includes part of Nueces and San Patricio counties and Aransas and Calhoun counties. The district, with boundaries that differ from when Hunter was a state representative, is considered Republican-leaning.

Both candidates are expected to release full campaign finance reports later today.